This chapter describes the morphology of individual gamma and (mainly) alpha motoneurones as well as the composition and localization of motoneuronal populations (pools) innervating different muscles ...
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This chapter describes the morphology of individual gamma and (mainly) alpha motoneurones as well as the composition and localization of motoneuronal populations (pools) innervating different muscles and muscle portions. Within the ventral horn of the spinal cord, motoneuronal cell bodies for a given muscle lie within an elongated rostro-caudal ‘column’, and cells of different sizes and properties are generally intermingled. Each motoneurone has several dendrites, typically extending to distances of many cell body diameters in all directions. Reconstructions of dendritic trees are described and the relationships are analyzed between the dimensions of dendrites, sizes of cell bodies, and conduction velocities of motor axons. Furthermore, the possible relationships are discussed between various aspects of motoneuronal cytochemistry, morphological characteristics, and functional properties. Large motoneurones seem to be more vulnerable than smaller ones in various kinds of disease (e.g., poliomyelitis).Less

Motoneurones: morphology, cytology, and topographical organization

Daniel Kernell

Published in print: 2006-08-17

This chapter describes the morphology of individual gamma and (mainly) alpha motoneurones as well as the composition and localization of motoneuronal populations (pools) innervating different muscles and muscle portions. Within the ventral horn of the spinal cord, motoneuronal cell bodies for a given muscle lie within an elongated rostro-caudal ‘column’, and cells of different sizes and properties are generally intermingled. Each motoneurone has several dendrites, typically extending to distances of many cell body diameters in all directions. Reconstructions of dendritic trees are described and the relationships are analyzed between the dimensions of dendrites, sizes of cell bodies, and conduction velocities of motor axons. Furthermore, the possible relationships are discussed between various aspects of motoneuronal cytochemistry, morphological characteristics, and functional properties. Large motoneurones seem to be more vulnerable than smaller ones in various kinds of disease (e.g., poliomyelitis).

In the 1940s and 1950s, health officials in the United States regularly published popular guides to polio prevention, therapeutic manuals for the care of paralyzed patients, and inspirational tales ...
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In the 1940s and 1950s, health officials in the United States regularly published popular guides to polio prevention, therapeutic manuals for the care of paralyzed patients, and inspirational tales of the disabled polio victims overcoming social stigma and achieving success. These tracts became a potent publicity tool to popularize faith in scientific research as the best weapon in the fight against disease. The popularized polio literature combined medical theory, philosophy, public health policy, and frequently a commercial message. Long before the polio vaccines were developed, health experts—especially those employed by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP)—made scientific research a public enterprise, in which even obscure scientific questions could be laid out and debated.Less

Polio Can Be Conquered: Science and Health Propaganda in the United States from Polio Polly to Jonas Salk

Naomi Rogers

Published in print: 2006-12-21

In the 1940s and 1950s, health officials in the United States regularly published popular guides to polio prevention, therapeutic manuals for the care of paralyzed patients, and inspirational tales of the disabled polio victims overcoming social stigma and achieving success. These tracts became a potent publicity tool to popularize faith in scientific research as the best weapon in the fight against disease. The popularized polio literature combined medical theory, philosophy, public health policy, and frequently a commercial message. Long before the polio vaccines were developed, health experts—especially those employed by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP)—made scientific research a public enterprise, in which even obscure scientific questions could be laid out and debated.

This chapter presents the osteobiography of a young woman who lived at around 2000 B.C. near what is now Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. She died before her 20th year, after several years of a ...
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This chapter presents the osteobiography of a young woman who lived at around 2000 B.C. near what is now Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. She died before her 20th year, after several years of a progressively debilitating condition, possibly poliomyelitis, and was buried in a collective tomb. Of the more than 300 people in the tomb, only Lesley was buried intact. The authors address a range of questions about her apparently unique situation in life as well as in death.Less

Lesley : A Unique Bronze Age Individual from Southeastern Arabia

Ann L. W. StodderAnn M. Palkovich

Published in print: 2012-04-22

This chapter presents the osteobiography of a young woman who lived at around 2000 B.C. near what is now Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. She died before her 20th year, after several years of a progressively debilitating condition, possibly poliomyelitis, and was buried in a collective tomb. Of the more than 300 people in the tomb, only Lesley was buried intact. The authors address a range of questions about her apparently unique situation in life as well as in death.